Out of Sync

Sometimes we experience an easy correspondence between our faith and the world around us - the Realm of God seems near. When that happens, we can give thanks! But at this first posting, and on the Martin Luther King, Jr. Day I'd invite your reflections about how the Christian faith calls us to be at odds with our "out of sync" with the world and culture around us. Martin Luther King, Jr. clearly challenged that culture. As we seek to be "Monday Christians," I wonder about the tension points that we experience today in our faith...

I recently received this newsletter article from a friend and colleague, the Rev. Dan Gansch-Boyth of St. Psul's UCC, Minonk, IL. He was reflecting about the unique revelation of God in Christ...

"...He comes to reveal godlineness in ways that make us eager to embrace it whole-heartedly, to respond with a yes that touches every fiber of our being.

"Increasingly that yes puts us out of sync with the world around us. This is nothing new. About 150 years before John the Baptist and Jesus, the Seleucid ruler Antiochus IV Epiphanes made it illegal to practice distinctive elements of the Jewish faith. For example, mothers who had their infant sons circumcised faced horrible punishment; the infants were murdered and then hung around their mothers' necks until their bodies decomposed. (1 Maccabees 1 - in the Apocryphal books included in some bibles. Not all bible stories are appropriate for 2nd grade Sunday School.)

"So the mothers who refused to allow Antiochus to tell them who they and their children were became models of great faithfulness. Their courage set the stage for the Maccabean revolt that pushed back the evil for a while.

"In Luke 1, after Zachariah circumcised his son John, he began to sing of a coming one who would '...save us from the hands of our enemies so we might serve the Lord God without fear, in holiness and righteousness, before him all our days.' (Luke 1:71) Zechariah echoes the courage and the hope that kept the Maccabeans faithful until God set the world right again - sort of right, anyway, and for a while, until the Romans took over.

"To be the faithful people of God is not as brutal for us as it is for some in our day. Nor is it anything like what the Jewish faithful endured under Antiochus IV or under Hitler. But we feel our faith putting us out of sync with the world. So John comes, marked with the sign that he is a child of God, to show us the way to prepare ourselves to welcome the coming 'salvation of God.' (Luke 1,3) And soon thereafter Jesus comes, marked with the sign that he is a child of God, to proclaim the Good News. (Luke 2,4) And the people of God find courage to live faithfully."

In what way is the Christian "dream" (MLK, Jr.) unique and different than the "dreams" promoted in the culture around us today? In what ways do you feel "out of sync" because of your faith? What are the challenges to remaining faithful and hopeful?

Please send your comments to: blogs@bethel-ucc.org. Please place the title, Out of Sync? in the subject line.

Growing up my parents took the non-partisan approach to religion. Each coming from strong, and very different religious backgrounds, they decided to let us decide. We were not not baptized. We were sent to a baptist and then to a catholic elementary school to please both sides of our families. However instead of peace and family harmony I believe it only caused confusion amongst myself and my siblings. Taught one way at St. Hyacinth then another at the Midwest Christian Academy, I found public school a relief because there was no pressure to be, what I considered, "dunked" from the minister at Midwest and no singling out from nuns and taunts from the children at St. Hyacinth. According to them, I was going to hell for not being Catholic.

Fortunately, after many years of a cynical view on religion, laughing at my poor grandmother for watching church on TV, and secretly praying to a God I knew existed, but didn't know much about... I met a really great guy who really had his head on straight. He and his family were members of Bethel. They attended church there regularly. They saw the other members as their extended family. As a matter of fact, the first time I met his parents was at Bethel. He brought me to church with him to meet them. There were no bad attitudes there because I did not declare which side I was on. (Catholic, Baptist, or otherwise...) There was no pushing or mean remarks in regards to my life after death. There was only love and acceptance. That was when I realized that it really didn't matter what you called him or how you prayed to him. It was all very clear to me then. So without any prompting or threatening I chose the best religious route for me. I was baptized at 20 and became a member there. I was married in that church and I will always have a very special place in my heart for Bethel.

I read a little about some of the fighting in the world. People blowing up other people because of who they pray to and how they pray to him (or her). I'm sure you know people are fighting that fight all around the world. Always have. Hopefully not always will.